I’ve always been fascinated by visions of the natural world that humans were rarely privy to, phenomena too small, too fleeting, or too inaccessible to see or document in any traditional way. Within the first moments of setting foot into the park, I became instantly aware of the quiet, isolated world I was entering. A book of Northern Michigan folktales supplied fantastical expectations of dogmen, bearwalkers, and other beasts on my hikes, but sightings of any animal life proved rare, with temperatures rarely breaking above freezing the entire week. I began noticing other activity underfoot, an endless variety of frost crystal growth unique to the deep cold conditions of the park. Clustering on frozen creek beds, exposed roots, and seemingly any other possible place of purchase, they grew undisturbed and undocumented. These drawings are an attempt to catalog the wealth of frost forms seen within the park, thriving for a few cold months every year.
Todd Freeman is a printmaker and illustrator living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cabin-Time is his first proper adventure in a long time.